Alcohol Use Disorder

COVID-19 means long stretch of stormy weather for people with alcohol and substance use disorders

by

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment that is particularly problematic for individuals with alcohol and substance use disorders (ASUD), according to physician scientists at the National Institutes of Health.  In a commentary now online in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers liken the global coronavirus emergency to a “perfect storm,” with dire … Read more

Meta-analysis supports AA as treatment for AUD

by

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is as effective as established behavioral treatments for some people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to an extensive review of NIAAA-supported research and other studies.  As reported March 11 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, researchers used a meta-analysis to show that AA and other 12-step facilitation interventions are effective in … Read more

Alcohol Rehabilitation Can Reduce Hospital Readmission, Relapse, and Mortality in Patients with Alcoholic Hepatitis

by

Early alcohol rehabilitation can reduce the risk of hospital readmission, alcohol relapse, and mortality among patients hospitalized for alcoholic hepatitis (AH), according to a recent National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) supported study. AH is a potentially life-threatening alcohol-associated liver disease; many patients who are hospitalized with severe cases of AH die within … Read more

Alcohol-related deaths increasing in the United States

by

An analysis of U.S. death certificate data by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, found that nearly 1 million people died from alcohol-related causes between 1999 and 2017. The number of death certificates mentioning alcohol more than doubled from 35,914 in 1999 to … Read more

The Complex Relationship Between Alcohol and Pain

by

The relationship between alcohol and pain is a complicated one. It is a common belief that alcohol dulls pain, yet research shows that sometimes alcohol can make pain worse. Understanding the complex relationship between alcohol and pain is an important area of research for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). In 2016, … Read more

Alcohol and “Deaths of Despair”

by

In 2015, Princeton University economists Anne Case, Ph.D., and Angus Deaton, Ph.D., reported something unexpected. After decreasing since the end of World War II, rates of death began to increase in the United States for people in some groups. The rise in deaths was driven primarily by drug and alcohol overdoses, suicides, and liver disease. … Read more